Marx Toys 6 Inch Apollo Astronauts (1970) with Blue Variant & Subtle Casting Differences

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Had the six poses from the set as a kid, parents chucked them out first chance they had and I'm re-acquiring them as an adult. So far have four of the six, with a blue variant on one and this time won't let them out of my sight.

Suitcase Guy, and some interesting observations on his features come below.

All 6 inch Marx Apollo figures should have the Marx logo brand at upper right, clearly dated 1970 in Roman numerals. Anyone claiming them to be "from the 60s" needs to subscribe to my blog. Figures without the logo or a plain circle are bootleg castings made in Mexico.

Scoop and Sample Bag Guy.

Camera Dude

This one had served as a chew toy for some adorable little mutt who likely waited for weeks for a chance to finally chomp down on it when nobody was looking. Someone should write an article on the physical abuse that plastic spaceman figures have had to endure. Look for patterns.

Walker

Scoop and Sample Bag Guy, blue variant. Whether these are any less common then the standard white castings is unknown to me.

That rules. Had to have it.

I also like how the Dust of Ages is present on blue guy's shoulders etc, but when making these pix I noticed something odd, and not just that they all have the same face.

In case you blew off the video upload, the dude in the middle has a slightly different chest unit. Central rectangular feature has a wide middle strip, the other two are just three vertical strokes of the same width.

Same with the blue guy: Three vertical strokes of equal width, white figure has a wider strip in the middle.

And again. His plastic also has a waxier texture to it, the others more of a china-like patina. 

The back of his pants is also slightly different with a wider "jock support".

His moon terrain base also lacks the degree of texturing on the one to the right. Not sure if these attributes are indicative of his being an "earlier" casting but there definitely was a change in the tooling during the run.

Marx Toys Apollo Astronaut Figures in 54mm and 6-inch Sizes, 1969 - 1978

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Whoa ... I sense some artful potential with that angle. One intention of this collecting habit is to amass interesting forms to be photographed & projected onto a canvas to be traced then painted-in, and that's going into the Keeper Folder.

Let's deal with the size issue to as long as we're here: On my video and in many other places I refer to the smaller figures as 60mm, which is incorrect. More like 54mm, though some with appendages flailing in the air do push it up into a taller bracket. The larger figures are also more like < 5.5 inches but rounding that up to 6 inches is accepted.

As to the dating, my intel has the larger figures debuting first, just after Apollo 11 and likely in time for Christmas 1969 toy shopping. I had the complete set of six poses by the age of five, which would have been January 1972, and my guess is that they were still commonly available at retail as long as the Apollo Program was in the public consciousness, with 1970 as their commonly accepted year of manufacture. 

If my understanding is correct the smaller figures were first issued in the "Giant Martian Landing" set in white (1972 or 1977, reliable sources differ), in both orange and white as part of the "Galaxy Command" playset (1978) and in orange only for the "Star Station Seven" playset (1978/1979). Which makes them somewhat rare as collectors usually prefer to keep those sets together, and to my knowledge they were never packaged alone. Could be wrong! please chime in if you have the skinny.

Blue variant at back left is somewhat rare as well. You can usually score the six inch guys for $15 - $20 shipped. Smaller sized usually turn up in lots and the full twelve poses should set you back $25 - $40 depending on the vendor. Then again as with all such things these are worth exactly whatever the seller can get for them. I've had some of the larger guys on my "Watch" lists for months 'cos I won't go where the vendors would prefer for a single figure. Nope, happy to wait it out until the Junk Drawer seller who doesn't care and is just getting rid of old stuff lists one up for $5 - $10, which is how all of my examples ended up where they are.

Yeah, that needs to be painted.

Marx Toys "Giant Martian Landing" Playset, 100% Complete, 1977 Box Date: Cold Shower Time

Yeah, cold shower time. 100% complete with a near-mint box any collector would walk many a crooked mile to score, big silly grin on their faces. Uphill, both ways. Before breakfast.

The listing is out of price range at current means, which in my opinion is quite reasonable given the scarcity of the form + museum-quality condition. So, smoke 'em if you got 'em, and you can view the item listing for the set by clicking here. It's even a Buy It Now, so all you gotta do is have the onions. Good luck!!

Never had it. By 1977 I was ten years old, and Space Toy playsets were not a priority until the Kenner "Star Wars" swag hit the fan. Got caught up in it like any other fan and would have been confused by this if presented with it as a comparatively generic substitute for that branded franchise inclusiveness. I wanted a Darth Vader like all the other kids had, and toy sets like this and TootsieToy's "Star Base Zeus" were likely met with general consumer indifference. My parents knew not to invest their money on it and instead just make sure we each had your basic "Star Wars" figure sets as most parents likely chose to do as well. With the good news being that these sets are now nearly priceless, the real tragedy being how many tens of thousands likely ended up in landfill once the jig was up. Ugh.

Incredible graphics through & through, and credited as the last Marx Space Toy set that Louis Marx himself had a direct hand in influencing. Though just when it first surfaced as a consumer item is debatable, with certain highly regarded reference guides giving a 1972 date, which keeps in step with when Marx sold the company. Would enjoy learning more if anyone has any insights or web links to share via comments or the email form provided.

"Fascinating ..." 

And WTF fonts are those??? They ain't on my Macintoshe. 

Side panel A.

Side panel B.

Bingo, perfect match for the one which came with the "Space City Vinyl Playset".

Mars Hill ... Not quite the jaw-dropper that the "Operation Moon Base" Moon Mountain is to behold, but I want one of those babies, on my studio table. Lookin' at me. Appears to be a simple vacuformed shell which had features printed on prior to being formed.

" ... Fascinating, Captain."

Interestingly, the orange cast Apollo figures are not present, only white castings. Since this set is complete the orange guys are apparently only germane to the 1978 "Galaxy Command" and 1979 "Star Station Seven" sets. The green alien figures also look to be identical to Marx aliens dating back to the Tom Corbett era albeit cast at a reduced size in translucent optic green. If my understanding is correct they first appeared in this form with "Operation Moon Base" and "Mystery Space Ship" in 1962, the simplified "Moon Base" release from later that year, and the scaled down "Project Apollo Moon Landing" set from 1967. 

If they'd held out on pressing that one until after Apollo 11 they might  have had a hit, and unless I be mistaken "Giant Martian Landing" was their next attempt at a Space Toy playset in the traditional meaning of the term. And if 1977 is the correct date when the set first appeared that's a full decade between space toy playset releases, a point which lends credence to the speculation on 1972 being the original release date. Would love to know if anyone can say for sure!

The four "Operation Moon Base" ground vehicles along with trailer, resuscitated by Marx to fill out this set. Hard to see, but the waxy luster of the Liquids Tank vehicle's plastic looks similar to the one recently obtained, and the non-glossy flatness of the Prime Mover vehicle's blue is a match as well. And for whatever its worth the yellow three-tank playset piece matches the OMB version I had obtained previously, as do some of the other fixture pieces albeit cast in silver rather then the OMB red. It even has the Morse Code device & bizarre Escape Capsule "thing".

My OMB Liquids Tank Vehicle.

My OMB Prime Mover Vehicle.

Damn right it was. And there we go on the age: 1977 production date clearly stamped on the cover art under the Marx logo. I am still open to the notion of the set having originally surfaced in 1972, and indeed this packaging may have been a quick re-release attempt at cashing in on the "Star Wars" frenzy. They'd keep attempting to cash-in on it too, until the company folded for good in 1980.